Sacred Fire
by Enome
Summary: A young woman has a destiny that falls between the muggle and wizarding world. A chance meeting with one Weasley however may lead to the mission she's always needed to confront and the love she never expected to come along.
1. Default Chapter

'Well this is certainly the way I wanted to spend my vacation…' thought Bria.

Here she was an American attempting to immerse herself in English culture and the best she could do was to enter a bar. It wasn't as if she was really here for the culture anyways, it was a vacation, or what her friends had called, an escape.

'But who wouldn't want to escape, I did everything I had to do, there was nothing left for me…I had to take a chance.'

Life had dealt Bria a rough blow; she had been raised by her paternal grandparents after her birth parents had been busted for dealing. It didn't really make an impact however on the way she lived her life. They were dead to her, besides Gram and Pa were young enough to raise her so that there was no void in her heart. Life had been simple then, living the American dream, a carefree childhood, she was never held back in any of her ambitions.

That is, until life changed. On Bria's thirteenth birthday she realized that there was more about her than she knew. At midnight she suddenly awoke that night to find a small cluster of women surrounding her bed.

They called to her as one united voice, "Come with us young Athenite. Come and fulfill your destiny. You are one of us and tonight you shall be educated. Let us bring you into the world that you belong." Their chanting had scared her but what happened next took her breath away. One moment she was lying in bed and the next she was draped on a white wicker chaise.

Brialynn was a naturally colorful person, but she now found herself immersed in white as far as the eye could see. Her chaise was the only furniture to be seen, the ground was covered by an opaque white fog. Through the whiteness a woman was making her way towards Bria.

"Hello Brialynn, welcome to Olympus" said the woman with an ethereal yet firm quality.

"Um…hi. Are you a God? I thought Olympus was on a mountain. Am I going to be used as a s-sac-sacrifice? I don't know who you are….am I dreaming?" Bria could barely get the words out she was so nervous.

"You are safer here than anywhere else, physically, mentally, and spiritually."

"Does that mean I'm not a sacrifice?" asked Bria.

"Of course you are not. Why would we sacrifice our sister? I am Athena. And although we are in Olympus we are not atop a mountain. The Greeks thought that part up themselves. A better way of thinking of it would be that we are currently on a parallel plane. We experience time in the same way as Earth but we have to power to…perhaps the fact that we can extend time in our own reality would be the best way to explain it" explained the intimidating goddess.

"Well then what is my purpose here?" Although the sense of fear and innate unease had settled, her curiosity had not. Even now in the distant fog she could make out the approaching figures of the same women who had surrounded her bed only moments ago…or wait was it really. After all Athena had said that time was malleable here, by the time she got back, if she got back, it could be the far future.

"Do not worry. We won't send you into the future. Tonight is the only time we will alter time for your education. Sisters are only allowed to appear here for their own education or for that of another" said a faint voice within Bria's mind.

In wonderment Bria just gazed at the statuesque woman before her. Could this really be happening? Her thoughts were now part of a symbiotic relationship with all the women here. Instantly she felt a barrage of knowledge assault her mind. These women had come to share their experience, knowledge, purpose, and wisdom.

The next morning Bria awoke in her bed unsure of the previous night's adventures. But it was all there; the knowledge that she was the last Athenite to walk the Earth. That the day would come when all of her sisters would depart and she would be the only one left to maintain the balance; the balance of magical and non-magical. She was not a prophecy she was a fact. The line of the Athenites had lost their purpose, after Bria the world would not need their gifts any longer. This made her task all the more difficult. She was charged with achieving a world where magic and muggle could exist in harmony, without intervention. There was no one to tell her how this task could be accomplished, only that someday in the near future the war against muggles would begin anew, and she would have to be there to help. It was not her destiny to solve the problem. Only to guide with her inherited wisdom and aid with her gifts.

On top of the unsettling wisdom that now resided within Bria's cranium, she had also received the mark of the Athenites. Such as a farmer would brand their herds, a similar mark now appeared upon Bria's left hip bone. It was an open eye but the lids were actually made of writing the top was inscribed with the Greek letters θαύμα, and for the lower lid, the translation, _prodigy_. The tattoo was discreet but unique; anyone who saw it would most likely remember it, a chance Bria learned she didn't really want to take.

That night had imparted the history of the Athenites to Bria. The rest of her life cemented the idea of a mission. As she grew older she received bits of teaching from existing Athenites. They flocked to her home to teach her about her growing powers before it was their turn to leave. Although Bria managed to live the rest of her life normally she always new her secret would one day separate her from all she held dear in America. By the end of high school Bria had become fully aware of her abilities, although not fully practiced. Many of her abilities required the presence of a witch or wizard to have practical experience, but often the explanations were concrete enough. Bria had the power to be unaffected by any spell, potion, or charm. In order for any of these to work (for not all magics are harmful) she needed only concentrate. For this Bria was given a constant mind tutorial while she slept on different spells so that she could choose to make any of these occur.

Bria walked further into the bar and took a seat. There were a few occupants, a couple people around a pool table. A couple watching the football game on the telly and a lone drunk.

"A beer please," she asked the barkeep. She wasn't going to stay long, just long enough to relax after traveling so much. Suddenly the lone drunk moved to sit next to her. She quickly realized that the man was young, not even mid-twenties. He had a fresh face and vivid red hair. He had an overly professional look to him and Bria was instantly bewildered. This man was clearly her age but he seemed to have the weight of the world on him.

"A beer, hmmm. Muggles are so :hic: strange. Where's all the regular stuff?" the young man stumbled and slurred his words but they immediately put Bria on alert. Clearly this man belonged to the magical community, didn't he have any common sense? If he was planning on getting plastered he should've chosen a non-muggle bar so as to not let anything loose.

"Is this man bothering you? He's been sputtering nonsense like that all night" the barkeep was looking out for her but his eyes were now on the man who's head had slumped finally to the bar, obviously passed out.

Bria acted quickly, "He's with me, an old friend, he's always been a strange drunk. Could you help me bring him to my car?" She threw some money on the bar, enough to cover her drink and the strange mans and she and the helpful barkeeper dragged him towards her car. After buckling him in she waved goodbye to the barkeeper and set out down the road. Now she had a strange wizard in her car with no clue where to go from here. She knew she was safe, if he chose to try anything on her it wouldn't work, but she didn't really want to be stuck with him all night. She still hadn't found a place to stay; this impromptu trip was looking worse and worse.

"Well let's just see what were dealing with here," Bria muttered after pulling over a few miles down the road. She tried looking in his pockets for a wallet or identification but there wasn't much. Some muggle and wizard money all mixed in together, what was obviously his wand, and a few business cards. Those were a bit more of a help. All of them referred to the Ministry of Magic so Bria assumed that was his workplace. At least they all had a phone number on them. It was always the same one but what you could you expect from the wizarding world. She quickly pulled out her mobile and punched in the numbers only to hear an automated machine.

"Thank you for calling the Ministry of Magic. Please state your problem. BEEP!"

"Umm…I picked up this guy at a bar and I don't know where he lives and this is the only information I have on him. He must be Cornelias Fudge, Arthur Weasley, Puck Astroby, Percy Weasley, or Jane Boatsinker."

"Cornelias Fudge is accounted for. Puck Astroby no longer works with the Ministry. Both Weasley men can be located as of their last paperwork at the Burrow. Jane Boatsinker lives in downtown London."

Well obviously he wasn't Jane Boatsinker. The Burrow seemed to be her best chance. "Can you tell me where to find the Burrow if I'm traveling by car?" Bria kindly asked this smart automated answering machine. What weird things wizarding things could do. She knew about the wizarding world but it was strange being suddenly immersed in it. After receiving surprisingly clear directions and checking to make sure her new occupant was still passed out Bria headed towards whatever a burrow was.


	2. Chapter 2

Well it turned out a burrow, actually The Burrow, was a lot harder to find than the Ministry supposed. After spending an hour driving north Bria realized that the next part of her directions were south and then north again. This was rather pointless. By this time it was the middle of the night, low cloud cover keeping everything in barely there moonlight, and her passenger was still completely out of this world. He had shown one sign of life however; about 15 minutes ago he'd started snoring.

This defiantly wasn't working. "Hey, you, wake up," Bria said as she gently prodded the redhead beside her. He didn't budge. "Wake up!" Bria tried shaking his arm this time. He slept on with naught but a slight disturbance in his snores before burrowing down once more into the car seat. "Okay, that's it, I'm lost and you've probably slept enough of whatever you were drinking off by now, so WAKE UP!" This last part she hollered directly into his ear causing him to jump, smack Bria in the chin with a wayward elbow, and then strike his own head against the car roof with a resounding clunk.

Okay so now he was awake, and either incredibly hung over or he'd hit his head pretty hard on the roof judging by the way he was cradling it now. Actually maybe it was both. While Bria sat there staring and thinking to herself the man had overcome his pain enough to realize he was no longer in a bar, he had somehow ended up in muggle transportation, and there was a muggle staring at him like a loony.

"Where am I?" The man's voice finally stirred Bria from her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, well you met, well not really met, me at that muggle bar. You were mumbling all sorts of magical things and were creeping out the barkeeper. Then you started talking to me and then passed out so I said you were my friend and we brought you to my car. Then I called the Ministry and they told me a couple of places to look but I decided on the Burrow, but now I'm lost so I decided to wake you and…"

"Wait, stop talking so quickly, my head is throbbing too much to process it all. Who are you and where are we?"

"Well as for where we are we're in England but after taking those Ministry directions I really have no clue. And as for who I am I think I'll wait to share that information until you tell me exactly who I just tried to save back there?"

"Percy Weasley, at your service. I hope this doesn't make me the damsel in distress, just one more screw up on a long, long list." As he was saying this his head leaned back against the headrest and his eyes narrowed so he could just see enough of Bria to make sure she didn't turn out to be an unsavory character.

"Umm, actually I think raving lunatic drunk would be a better description for how I found you a couple hours ago."

"Sorry," he said this so flippantly, there was even a rather feminine hand gesture to match that Bria knew the only thing he was sorry for was partially inconveniencing her but the rest was all for him and how he'd ended up in this situation. He really was a depressing bloke. No wonder he'd been drinking himself silly, most likely he couldn't bear to face a wizarding bar, not if he was the Percy Weasley who was an assistant to the Minister of Magic. That simple title was not so simple; it carried a heavy load of responsibility with it.

Oh great now I feel sorry for him, damn my own intuitiveness Bria though as the words dragged themselves between her lips. "Is there anything else I can do? If we get – well, un-lost for one, I'll gladly take you to Burrow."

"It's _THE_ burrow, and it's no more a home to me than you are He-Who-Must-Not-  
Be-Named. Just let me out at a well-lit corner. I have no place to go for now."

"No place? No home? But the ministry machine said…"

"I know what it said lady! It's not true anymore! I can't go back..." this he exclaimed rather vehemently but it seemed his hate had only served remind him of the agony pounding in his head rather than scare off Bria's questions.

"Why?"

She had asked it so quietly and softly that Percy turned his head and finally gave her a good look. She was medium sized, with dark curls that reached just past her shoulders. But when Percy looked at her face he felt compelled to answer. Her light blue eyes seemed to peer straight into his soul like he'd known her all his life.

"I screwed up. I was so determined to look out for myself and be an independent adult that I forgot that home and family was the one thing I could trust. I was such a jerk…God I need another drink."

"You know if you keep resolving everything with shots you'll really turn into a drunkard."

"No one will miss me."

"Well then I guess I get to be your intervention," said Bria as she restarted the engine and pulled back onto the road, "so exactly which way is _the _burrow?"

"Huh? You're….what?" Percy could only look at Bria and shake his head, but it did him no good as she kept her eyes on the road and all he could do was point her back the way she'd come, back to his childhood home, back to the place he was wanted least.

"I don't even know your name."

"Bria."

* * *

The sun was just breaking over the horizon as Bria began her ascent up a sprawling hill in the English countryside. They'd gone past a quaint English village. This was exactly what Bria had imagined experiencing, well except for the nervous redhead in her passenger seat. He was currently staring at his nails, as if willing them to grow another quarter inch so he could gnaw them down to stubs again.

Suddenly over the next crest of the hill Bria could see a teetering home that seemed to be bursting at the seams. Forgotten toys and odd objects lay strewn about the yard and a few chickens clucking about. To one side lay a vegetable patch and beyond that a field. On the other side lay a small wood that continued disappeared behind the house only to reappear behind the field. Its small absence left just enough room for what was probably one of the few places where you could watch the sunset behind a small valley.

"Its not much." Her passenger suddenly spoke up stirring Bria from her musings.

"It's perfect. I can tell its someplace that deserves the title Home."

Percy looked at her strangely before continuing on in a melancholy tone, "Not for me anymore."

"Well then we'll just have to change that." Stated Bria as she pulled into the dirt driveway and parked the car. She got out and was enthused to see that although it was reluctant Percy had also gotten out albeit slowly and almost defiantly.

"It's too early, they won't be awake."

"Well then we'll have to go wake them." In all honesty Bria didn't know why she felt so compelled to help this man. He didn't really feel like a stranger anymore. Also meddling was never her thing, this was completely out of character for her. If she was herself she would have never taken on this challenge, she would have just found a nice motel or something for the night and then would've spent this morning actually planning her trip. Instead she was standing in a strange yard trying to convince a man who was ready to flush his life down the drain to make nice with his family; oh she'd defiantly made better decisions before. These were the kinds of things her Athenite sisters had influenced her into. Many of them were strong believers in fate, even in everyday life. Many of her lessons focused on the people you meet and how even the smallest person can later become a big impact.

Maybe she could blame this sudden lack of judgment on all of that. Blaming things on her tattoo was something Bria did often these days as she awaited the destiny that didn't seem to want to ever happen.

"You know what, you're a very nice witch and all but I can't do this. Thanks for trying." With that Percy slammed his door and walked quickly towards the forest path that seemed to head back towards the town they'd driven through only moments before.

"What!" Bria screamed, "You can't do this, you have to face them, you're losing whatever you have left."

"How the bloody hell would you know?" Percy turned around for a moment to scream back, "You've known me for all of 7 very hung over hours and you think can tell me how to fix my life? You can't so just leave, don't bother!" With that he turned around again, no longer a nervous man, but now a coward running away from the one thing he was too afraid to try for.

By now he was well away and Bria continued to stand there with her jaw open. Suddenly she snapped out of it. "Goddamn!" she yelled as she violently kicked the innocent tires of her car. "Ahh!" She finally said in defeat as the laid her head upon her arms and simply leaned against the car for support.

Now what, she thought.

"Excuse me miss, are you okay?" Bria turned to see a plump middle-aged woman standing a few steps from the front door in her bathrobe.

"No, I'm not. I'm sorry I couldn't bring him home."

"Who dear?"

"Your son." Bria whispered pointing over her shoulder at the retreating figure in the field.

All Mrs. Weasley could do was gasp.


End file.
